Kills Me, Kills Me Not
by Aigerim Lehane
Summary: Tori is a werewolf. Jade is a werewolf hunter. Neither is aware of each other's secret, and both are in love. It's doesn't take long for things to become messy.
1. Chapter 1

_Prompt: Jade & Tori are both close friends hiding two major secrets from each other, one harmless and one deadly; Tori is a werewolf, the strongest of her kind and Jade is a werewolf hunter, the most deadlest of here kind & they both have a crush on the other. After a fight under the full moon, Tori is left poisoned with 2 days to live. Will Jade realise what she's done & save her? Will Jade leave her to die or will it just be too late?_

_So, I made it a separate story because the lenght was getting out of control. It won't be too long, maybe seven chapters or even less. I'm uploading two chapters at once, so don't get confused ;)_

* * *

"I'm fucking coming already!"

Tori stifled an amused giggle behind her hand as the door was thrown open, revealing a very disheveled and cranky Jade on the other side.

"I don't need girl scout cookies," the half-asleep girl grumbled, yawning as she scratched at her stomach through a white t-shirt.

"If this is a jab at my cute pink skirt, it's a pathetic one," Tori rolled her eyes, pushing past her friend of two years into the house, ignoring a meant-to-be-menacing glare the girl threw her way. Thank God she was a werewolf and not a vamp – it would have been impossible to get an invite out of Jade, she thought fleetingly. "Seriously, Jade. It's past noon, how are you still asleep?"

"Stayed up late," was her grumpy reply as the house owner made her way to the kitchen, rattling various pans in breakfast preparations. Or lunch, already – Jade did have a habit of sleeping in on weekends. Well, according to the girl who was in the middle of tearing her kitchen apart, everyone absolutely had to sleep in on a Saturday, and Tori was fucking with the most important and fundamental law of the Universe by being up so early. The brunette's perky attitude about it certainly didn't help, either.

It wasn't like Tori could do anything about it, to be fair. It was full moon today, after all. Werewolves had way too much energy on their hands as it was, but with those three nights coming up, they tended to jump out of their skin with how pumped they became.

Too bad she couldn't exactly explain that to Jade without risking execution by her own kind. Sworn secrets sucked.

"And what exactly you were _doing_, huh?" Tori playfully jabbed at her friend, trying to mask the jealous pang in her chest as she couldn't help but imagine just what Jade could have been up to late at night. _Yes, Tori,_ the brunette thought to herself gloomily. _What could Jade, a beautiful red-blooded young woman, be doing on a Friday night?_

Tori begrudgingly admitted that the question most probably was _who_ Jade was doing yesterday.

"Nothing and _no one,_" Jade threw at her lazily, unknowingly voicing the brunette's thoughts out loud. "Got engrossed in a book."

"It still baffles me to no end that _you_ are the biggest book worm I've ever met," Tori smirked, propping up against the doorway with her shoulder as she watched the raven-haired woman expertly cut the vegetables up. Jade's muscles were flexing and rippling under her skin, her simple t-shirt crumpling in the most delicious of ways as the girl stood slouched near the counter. And then she reached for salt at the top shelf, her shirt riding up, revealing her taut stomach to Tori's embarrassed and hungry eyes, the outline of her tattoo slightly visible under the white material.

"Stereotyping sucks," Jade replied, oblivious to the inner fight her guest was having with herself. "Therefore, by the extension, you suck as well."

_Oh, I certainly do,_ Tori thought shamelessly to herself as she let her eyes trail over Jade's form, heat pooling in her stomach. _I'm more than willing to demonstrate just how good I am at it._

Oh dear God. She knew coming here was the worst idea ever, especially today of all days.

Because she didn't have enough headache from those confusing feelings towards Jade lately, the full moon just had to sneak up on her.

_Well it's not like anyone dragged you here. It was _your _idea._

No one asked you.

"-you see?"

"I… what?" Tori realized she'd zoned out, as she often tended to in Jade's presence those past weeks. Months. Whatever. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"I asked if you liked what you saw," the raven-haired girl smirked knowingly. "Judging by your drool, I'd say you did."

"What- I'm not, I'm," her hand automatically flew to her mouth as she wiped at the non-existent saliva, glaring at the arrogant girl next. "Jerk," she mumbled, forcefully pushing away from the doorpost and entering the kitchen.

"I'm not the one eye-fucking an innocent bystander."

"_Innocent_ is kind of a stretch, don't you think?" Tori rebuffed, annoyed, crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted against her will at being caught.

"Geez, Vega, what's got your panties in a twist?"

_Damn full moon,_ she replied silently.

It was going to be the first night of the cycle, and her hormones were all over the place, the urge to mate slowly becoming intolerable the closer it came to the nighttime.

Seeing as it was only noon, the night was nowhere near enough for her to be acting up, but her close proximity to Jade was driving her crazy with need. Her hot werewolf blood was boiling, human emotions mixing with her primal instincts.

_So should not have come here,_ she cursed inwardly.

"Are you okay?" The target of her current obsession asked softly, inches away from the stressed-out girl. When did she get so close? "You're weird today. Quiet… It's unnerving."

The brunette raised her dark eyes to find icy blues staring back, uncharacteristically serious. Oh God, her scent was intoxicating.

"Yeah, I uh, I'm good," the girl stammered, hugging herself to in an attempt to shield from Jade's aggressive sexiness. The blue-eyed girl wasn't even doing anything, for God's sakes; but Tori's craving made the situation ten times worse, along with her arousal. "Guess I didn't get enough sleep, either."

"No shit, babe," Jade grunted, a habitual pet name cutting Tori's hearing. "Why do you insist on getting out of bed before dark, I have no idea." The words were clearly meant to be sharp, mocking, but Jade colored them with a soft tone, want pooling around the edges as she half-whispered the sentence, her surprisingly sweet breath doing nothing to cool down Tori's flushed face.

The brunette barely managed to catch a pathetic whimper as Jade shifted slightly, coming to stand right in front of her, the intensity of her gaze making the brunette weak in knees as the air around the crackled with unspoken words.

"You know," Jade whispered, her eyes searching Tori's face, flashing satisfaction when she read lust clear as day. "There's this interesting thing…"

"Really," The werewolf hummed, gently swaying in Jade's close proximity. "What thing?..."

"You refuted the comment about me being innocent, but… You didn't exactly deny you were eye-fucking me," the raven-haired girl said quietly, smirking. "So…"

"So…" Tori echoed, once again not admitting nor denying anything.

The girls stared each other in the eyes for a fraction of a second, simultaneously leaning in towards each other, slowly, cautiously, afraid of scaring away the moment that had been coming for months now.

Tori did whimper this time, her eyes fluttering shut as Jade's hungry lips claimed hers, biting, sucking, tugging, teasing, eliciting moans for the brunette as she reciprocated with fever.

_This is usually where she hoists me up on her hips and takes me to her bed, and we spend a whole weekend learning each other._

It probably was supposed to end this way, in another place, in another time, in a whole other universe, where Tori was just a girl madly in love, where Jade was that, too. But it wasn't them.

Reality came crashing back down on Tori, mocking her with wolf claws beginning to transform on her hands as Jade kissed down her neck with urgent need. The brunette didn't need a mirror to know that her eyes flashed a bright frightening yellow as her desire escalated from under her control.

_Today's not the day_.

Tori staggered back, her breathing ragged as she forced her body to calm down, retreating her fangs and claws not without a fight.

"Tori," oh God, she was ready to lose it when Jade rasped out her name like that, husky, hungry. "Whats wrong?"

"…I can't, Jade," the brunette got out weakly, going with a half-truth. _I can't do this without killing you._

Werewolves didn't mate with humans for a reason. She was just stupid enough to fall for one.

"Is it something I did?" Jade was getting desperate as her gaze turned pleading, confused. "It's… I'm not- you matter to me," the raven-haired girl stumbled with her words. "It's not my usual routine. You're not like them, Tori, I…"

"I'm sorry, Jade," the werewolf was visibly struggling with her inner beast. Thankfully, Jade took it as emotions getting the best of her. In a way, she was right. "It's not you, I swear," she hurried to explain through the haze that was clouding her mind from her lust. "I want this. I want you, I just need some time to sort it out," the words were becoming harder to slur out. She needed to get to the woods. Goddammit, it wasn't even lunch time, and she already couldn't control her transformation. Did Jade _have_ to be so irresistible?

"I guess I understand," the girl in question nodded sadly, defeated. "I, uh… I'll be waiting for you. Do you want me to call you, or-"

"I'll call you when I'm done… sorting," Tori managed through her teeth. "I'm sorry, Jade, I really need to go now," she was practically groaning as she felt the wolf shift in her, craving a contact with a potential mate the human had such strong feelings for.

_Fucking full moon._

It wasn't really the moon, though. They've made it past several previous ones without any problems.

It was her feelings, _their _feelings growing stronger, and her wolf felt it as well.

Tori would howl with happiness at the thought, if it wasn't for the fact that, well, she wanted to actually _howl_ and that was just a tad socially inadequate.

Without so much as a glance at Jade, the brunette bolted out the door, hurriedly, jumping inside her car and gunning it to the woods. The vision was becoming sharper already, different smells hitting her from various directions, the strongest one of them beings Jade's, coming from her own skin.

Tori let out a puppy whine at the realization, her still human foot stomping on a gas pedal even harder as her clawed hands tightened on a wheel for a second before she willed them to relax. She didn't need another wheel being torn off.

The car stopped as soon as Jade's house was safely far behind her, and the werewolf, grunted and growled as she transformed, ripping her clothes off in the process, not even caring if anyone saw her. With that one last bit of human mind left, Tori quickly thanked Jade's uncle for leaving her a secluded mansion thirty minutes away from the town. She'd be screwed if Jade lived on one of the main streets, but now, the deep forest surrounded her, giving her a chance at remaining unseen.

A moment later, a victorious howl bloomed throughout the woods.

* * *

_'Found new info. Call me.'_

Jade scowled as she dialed Robbie's number.

"You're interrupting my workout," she grunted into the phone, slowly calming her breathing down.

"…But it's daytime," the man stated confusedly.

"There's an alpha on the loose, I gotta be prepared, _and_ I also don't have to explain myself to you. What the hell do you want?"

Her research partner certainly didn't need to know the reason she was doing pushups like crazy in the late afternoon.

_Dammit, Vega. Way to make me go crazy with frustration._

They kissed. They _actually_ kissed. Tori Vega, the girl she'd been quietly and desperately pining after for years now, kissed her. Made out with her, more like it. Jade still couldn't get the kiss out of her head.

She also couldn't forget the horrified look on the girl's face right before she fled from her, most probably regretting everything that had ever happened between them. Which, frankly, wasn't that much.

There was also another thing Jade was currently freaking out about.

_Shit, Vega's smart. She's gonna analyze some things and realize I've been banging pretty much her carbon copies for the past year._

Dammit.

"…isn't that weird?"

Oh fuck, Robbie.

"What?"

Her partner sighed, exasperated.

"Were you even listening? For the record, I know you weren't, I was asking rhetorically to make you feel ashamed and flustered."

"I am neither, now quit wasting my time and repeat everything," the girl gritted through her teeth.

"_I'm_ the one wasting time – you know what, okay, fine, I'll just go with it. What's got you so hot and bothered, anyway?"

"_Robbie."_

"Alright, geez. Anyway, I got new info on the new alpha."

Jade waited patiently, but Robbie apparently wanted her to give him some kind of an answer.

"Well? What info?"

"Really? Not, 'oh, cool, good job Robbie', or 'sounds interesting, go on', you're just gonna-"

"I'm seconds away from grabbing my best crossbow and going after you," Jade growled, eliciting an audible gulp from the man on the other line.

_Nerd._

"Okay, got it. The info. I've found two things. First, it's a lone wolf."

"No pack?" Jade stood up, looking around her secret room absent-mindedly as she splashed some scotch into a glass tumbler.

"Nope," Robbie confirmed.

"That's both good and bad news," the girl murmured, her tone gaining a businesslike edge as she entered Hunter mode. "No pack means less wolves to deal with, but if a wolf choses to stay single… It's pretty fucking strong."

"Yup," Her research partner answered affirmatively once again, sounding far too cheerful to be appropriate for the line of conversation. "There's another thing."

"Spill," Jade curtly stated, her fingers tracing the outline of her mother's face as she neared a family portrait. The whole room had several paintings hung on the walls, faces somber and grim as they silently reminded their descendants about the responsibilities that came from being born into West family name.

_You're a West,_ Jade habitually recalled her uncle's parting words on his deathbed. _A West kills the wolf. Always._

And she did. She drove a silver knife right into his chest, quiet tears trickling down her cheeks as her uncle whimpered, his bitten arm squeezing her shoulder one last time before he died.

"It's a female."

Jade frowned, sharply turning away from her late family's faces as she hurried upstairs.

"Are you sure? A female lone alpha?"

"I know!" Robbie exclaimed. "That's so unexpected! Usually alphas are male. Plus, what are the odds of a female without a mate at that age? That's, like, practically impossible."

"Maybe she's just a bitch," Jade muttered, smirking when she heard Robbie burst out laughing at her little pun.

"Well, you know that means only one thing," her friend's voice grew serious as he voiced Jade's concerns.

"Uh-huh."

If a female chose to stay alone for so long, means she hadn't found a suitable mate. Which means no male wolf was able to tame her.

Which, consequently, lead to a fair assumption that this alpha wasn't just strong. She was _extremely_ strong.

She might actually pose a threat to Jade.

The girl smiled, gleeful. Finally, a challenge.

"Just be careful, okay?" Robbie said hesitantly. "I'm gonna be assigned to Beck if you get killed, and I really don't want to. Things are still weird between us."

"You mean after you tried to date-rape him?"

"Jade!" Robbie shrieked, mortified. "I wasn't – you know that's not how it went! It's not my fault he didn't realize we were on a date when I invited him to see a movie," the man rushed out defensively. "You're supposed to kiss after a date! I thought he knew that's what it was!"

"You know, for a gay guy, you have a _terrible_ gaydar," Jade smirked.

"Well I'm glad my pain makes you happy," her partner grumbled. "And I mean actual physical pain, you jerk."

"Oh, I know, I remember all about Beck punching you out of a reflex," this time, Jade did laugh. "That's my favorite part about that story."

"You know what, screw you, get killed for all I care," Robbie huffed. He kept silent for a second before caving in: "Alright, I don't actually mean that. Don't get killed, I might miss you."

"I'm not gonna get killed," the girl said with a smile. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to?"

"Right, oh the Jade West, the prodigy Huntress," Robbie mockingly announced. "Is it really fair to consider you a prodigy, though? You were trained to be a Hunter before you could even walk. You're a West, for God's sakes. Like, is it nurture or nature?"

"Alright, I'm hanging up," Jade rolled her eyes as she took the phone from her ear, ready to press 'end', before Robbie's frantic shouts stopped her.

"What?" She snapped.

"One more thing! The alpha was seen in your woods yesterday. We got pretty solid witnesses and a dead cow."

"And you waited this long to tell me?" Jade said, exasperated. "Really, Robbie? That should've been you opening stance, dude."

"It's not dark out yet," Robbie bit back. "She's not gonna be running around fully transformed _now_. What's the big deal?"

"Whatever. I'm hanging up for real now. Don't invite Beck to lunch; you might end up dry-humping him at the table."

"Ha-ha," Robbie deadpanned, clearly failing to see anything humorous about the situation. "Joke's on you, lunch time's over."

"Bye, nerd," the young Huntress scoffed, ending the call and sighing with boredom. It was at least five hours till the sundown, and she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do until then.

Well, in reality Jade always had things to do. But today, her mind refused to focus on anything but a certain slender brunette. The Huntress sighed again, this time longingly, as she recalled every flirting moment she shared with Tori, leading up to the heated make-out in her kitchen.

Fuck, she was screwed.

Jade shook her head, scowling. Thinking about Tori would only lead to analyzing and overanalyzing every little thing, and she'd end up going crazy crafting theories and possible outcomes. Currently, she was torn between two: either the brunette called her to let her down, or never called her ever again.

With it being almost two hours since Tori ran from her, Jade stuck with the latter.

The Huntress sighed for the third time, defeated. Excessive working out it is.

She had an alpha to kill today, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

_I prepared a little soundtrack for the last scene - it's Michael Suby - Season 4 Prologue :) Just a short instrumental piece, but it really sets the mood. I indicated the start of it in the story._

_Like always, please review!_

* * *

A disoriented flock of birds fled from within the deepness of the forest, hollering as the sounds of panicked wings disturbed the stillness of the night.

Jade looked up at the noise, allowing a crooked smirk curve on her lips. _Bingo._ The moon was up. The wolf was near.

"Jade? Jade, do you copy?"

The Huntress rolled her eyes at Robbie's squeak as she adjusted her earbud, crouching behind a tall oak.

"I'm here, now shut your hole," she hissed. "The alpha is here somewhere, so I'm disconnecting."

"What if you need back-up?" the man exclaimed worriedly. "I know, I know, you never needed one, you're almighty, whatever, but this is a serious catch. You are very likely to get injured."

"Yes, and if the wolf hears me before I want her to, I'll be killed for sure," the Huntress pointed out. "I'll report back as soon as I kill the bitch."

Jade heard shuffling on the other line as Robbie obviously hesitated before giving her a reluctant answer.

"…Fine. And for the record, you're gonna get my ass fired for not telling the Board about you going on a suicide mission against a female alpha."

"Honey, I'm a West. I _own_ the fucking Board."

"Not the way they see it. I'm disconnecting. Jade…" the man sighed, the genuine concern in his tone making Jade smile. "Please be careful."

"You know the first rule. Don't die."

"That's from 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'," Robbie snorted.

"Whatever. I'm cooler than her anyway." Without waiting for her research partner's reply, Jade clicked on the ear piece, disconnecting and tucking the device safely into the inside pocket. Her hand lingered on a Kevlar vest by the force of habit, tracing a scratch that weren't there anymore since the Board made her replace the armor. Jade scowled briefly as she thought back to the old killjoys. It had been years since any of them were out in the field. The young Huntress sincerely doubted that Board members even remembered how to load a crossbow anymore. In any case, those people most decidedly didn't have any standing to tell her how to do her job. She'd already achieved far more than any of them combined.

The dark-haired girl shook her head, willing any unnecessary thoughts out of her head as she concentrated on her surroundings, her breathing even as she calculated her steps. She needed to assess the alpha before approaching it, that was a given. She also couldn't risk getting into a face-to-face confrontation, so a fair fight was ruled out. Well, a fight against a werewolf was never fair anyway.

Jade strained her trained hearing, her feet carrying her effortlessly and soundlessly as she quickly moved between the trees. Her keen gaze could make out a tall, steep bluff several meters ahead, and the closer she neared it, the clearer small whining noises became.

The wolf was right here.

A small twig was sidestepped right in time as the Huntress once again crouched behind a tree, her eyes taking in a surprisingly small form of a wolf-like creature hunched over something. As she looked harder, she realized the wolf was licking its leg, whimpering. It must have hurt itself while running. It seemed like the perfect timing to jump the beast, catching it off guard.

However, before Jade could move, the wolf sprung to its hinder paws, tilting its head back as it howled loudly, its human-like arms spreading to reveal a wide strong chest. The moonlight was in a perfect position to bathe the alpha in its gentle light. Jade stared, observing with a scientific interest as the wolf practically shone, the silky chestnut fur covering it from head to toe.

The Huntress had to admit that this specimen was extraordinary. It was easily recognizable as female; there was a certain grace to it as the wolf moved around flowingly, its mesmerizing tail lazily swaying from side to side. The alpha snorted and rumbled as it paced, scratching at its pointy ear occasionally, and Jade stifled an amused grunt at the deadly beast looking like a confused puppy at the moment.

The Huntress continued to scrutinize the wolf from her hide-out behind the tree. She often studied her catches to the last detail before the kill; Jade found out a long time ago that she was drawn to the creatures, in a way. She killed them not out of hate, but out of duty; after the first year of hunting, emotions naturally gave way to curiosity. Slaying the wolves mercilessly while laughing maniacally got really boring really fast, anyway. Observing them and feeling the rush from a calculated, well thought-out hunt was far more interesting. And staring at the gorgeous specimen in front of her, the young Huntress once again felt a pang of disappointment that she wasn't allowed to capture the creature alive and lock it up for studying.

_She's actually beautiful,_ Jade thought to herself. _Wonder how she looks like in human form._

She was about to find out rather soon. Wolves transformed back to people when they died. Jade remembered feeling immensely disappointed when she found that out. There were so many possibilities if they could get their hands on a werewolf body.

It also didn't exactly helped calm her doubting mind each time she faced the fact that she killed someone who also had been a human, as well.

The alpha's sudden sniffing tore Jade out of her musings. She tensed up, shifting silently to get the crossbow on the ready, but as she looked away for a fraction of a second, the wolf was gone. Jade didn't even have time to marvel at its speed when the alpha reappeared right behind her, softly growling with apprehension.

_Fuck_, was all Jade could think. That, and a promise to Robbie she was about to break.

The wolf cocked its head to the right, sniffing her next, nuzzling its nose over her neck. The Huntress' breath hitched in her throat in fear. One wrong move, and the fangs would rip her throat out. She'd die on the spot, partly due to a pain shock and partly due to the speed she would bleed out with.

How the heck did she allow the alpha to get this close?

Fortunately – and incomprehensibly – for Jade, the wolf didn't feel like closing its jaws on her artery. After a thorough sniffing, the creature backed away, but still stayed in Jade's personal space, lightly knocking her cheekbone with its nose. The girl was right in her observations – the beast's fur _was_ unbelievably soft.

Jade's mind raced as she sat rooted to the spot, with the wolf seemingly trying to get acquainted with her. _Why isn't she tearing me apart?_

_…When did I start referring to it as 'her'?_

The wolf grunted, shaking its head, as if in confusion, as it smelled Jade again. And then, the weirdest thing happened.

The alpha whimpered, nuzzling the stunned girl's neck almost tenderly and plopping on its behind near her next, panting excitedly as it waggled its tail.

Jade blinked.

_She's… she's waggling her tail. Okay. What. The fuck._

The wolf seemed to be enjoying her company as it simply sat there like a huge, slightly deformed human-like dog, looking down at her with warm puppy eyes, deep brown reflecting Jade's astounded face.

_This is beyond creepy. Does it… does it _like _me?_

But it was a female.

A female alpha without a mate despite it having reached its mating age.

Jade would've slapped herself if she wasn't so freaked out about the wolf's close proximity.

The alpha didn't have a _male_ mate. It seemed perfectly content with seeking a female one, as far as Jade could tell. The girl didn't know whether she should be freaked out, disgusted, flattered, or laughing her ass off.

She quickly realized there was one thing she actually should be doing. Hunting.

This was _perfect_. Freaking amazing. She could take out the alpha without a hitch. Easy peasy.

And she didn't actually have to kill it now, Jade mused. This was a unique case, as far she the girl knew. Werewolves didn't mate with humans. Maybe there was something in her scent. That could revolutionize the hunt, completely turn it around.

She'd just need to keep the wolf around for a couple of days, and she had the perfect tool for that.

A strangled whine left the wolf's throat as the blade effortlessly entered its shoulder, the venom from it poisoning its bloodstream almost instantly. The beast let out a feral, betrayed growl as it trying to dart away, only to stagger and slump to the ground, whimpering in agony at the transformation that began to spread through it body. Jade smirked, satisfied. If the wolf was turning against its will, it meant the poison was working.

"Easy, beautiful," she murmured, approaching the wolf and cringing at the bones snapping as the beast slowly returned to the human form. "Only two days, and you'll be put out of your misery for good."

_(soundtrack)_

The wolf let out a long desperate howl which ended in a sobbing moan as the last of fur left the body, leaving behind a curled up slender silhouette, naked and shivering. The tan skin glistened in the moon as the girl shook, whimpering and moaning at the pain of the forced transformation.

"Guess I get to see what you really look like," Jade smirked, jogging up to the nude werewolf.

"…I doubt you'll be half as happy as you sound right now…" the girl weakly got out.

Jade's heart clenched in her chest, her eyes widening in realization.

No. No way.

That voice. The pleasant rasp she heard so many times before, the sound sending shivers down her spine.

Jade looked closer, paling in fear as she slowly recognized the tan of her skin, the soft chestnut locks, the delicate curve of her neck.

No.

"…when you do," she finished, rolling around and looking at the Huntress, her expression hurt.

"No," Jade breathed, shaking her head as she fell to her knees. "…No."

Tori watched her sadly, wincing as she ripped the knife out of her shoulder.

"Yes, Jade."

As the Huntress stared at the brunette with a lost expression, another thought struck her, and her eyes met Tori's once again, a mutual understanding passing between them as they looked at the knife in the naked girl's hand.

The blade. The poison.

Tori had two days left.


	3. Chapter 3

_Just a kind reminder that this is a spin off from my 'I Write Prompts and Tragedies' collection. It was pointed out by several of my lovely readers that it would be better as a stand-alone :) _

_Please review!_

* * *

"A hunter. You're a goddamn Hunter."

"You're a fucking werewolf," Jade fired back, stomping on a gas pedal as she threw a quick glare at a curled up girl in her hoodie. "It's just – I don't even know what to say, or what to think, or what to feel. _How?"_

"Born this way," Tori shrugged, immediately regretting doing so as the pain shot through her wounded shoulder. The Huntress looked up in the rearview mirror, her eyes softening with sympathy at the sight of the werewolf wrapping the borrowed hoodie tighter around her naked body, shivering from the venom. It was hitting her so quick, Jade thought to herself. The cold never affected werewolves, naturally hot-blooded creatures, but now, with poison in her blood, Tori was feeling it twice as much as the weakest human.

And it had to suck.

"I got a blanket somewhere in the back," Jade mumbled. "I think it's-"

"Why am I still alive?" Tori spoke up suddenly, interrupting her. "Why didn't you kill me at the spot?"

"Sounds like you want me to," the Huntress grunted, feeling anger's familiar burn course through her veins.

"I'd rather be dead than be experimented on," Tori spat, meeting Jade's rage with her own fury, the clash of emotions almost palpable in the air as both girls pushed each other.

"Who said anything about experimenting?"

"Well why else would you give me the venom?"

"How did you even know the blade was poisoned?"

"Uh, because I was _the one_ stabbed with it?"

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Jade muttered, the car swerving on the road as she parked near her house. "You weren't supposed to be one of them, you weren't supposed to be a part of _this_ world!"

"What about you?! How the hell are you even a Killer?" the werewolf fired back, crawling out of the car and almost losing her balance before she managed to grab onto the car door for support. "It's… spinny," she breathed weakly, sliding down to her bottom next. "And cold."

"Come on," the young Huntress grunted, hooking her arms under Tori's knees and shoulders, effortlessly picking up the hurt girl. The werewolf's hands wrapped themselves around Jade's neck instinctively to keep from falling, a small whimper escaping her as she moved her injured side.

"I know you're going to cut me and probe at me," the wounded alpha muttered. "You can lose the pretend concern."

"God, just shut up," Jade gritted through her teeth, careful not to flop the girl in her hold around too much, mindful of the gash on her shoulder.

They made it to the living room in record time. Jade gingerly placed the werewolf on the couch, slightly rolling her eyes as Tori self-consciously crossed her legs shut, a faint blush covering her bronze cheeks.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," the Huntress scoffed, retrieving one of the many first aid kids she had around the house. "Unless you got a talking clown down there, I'm not gonna be fazed."

"It's not about you," Tori rebuffed indignantly, crossing her arms as well. "I'm not that kinda girl."

"You're about to be a dead one if you don't let me inspect the wound," Jade noted calmly, her tone not betraying any of the emotional turmoil she was experiencing on the inside.

"You got me in my shoulder! Not in – well, you know-"

"Jesus Christ, Vega, I'm not asking you to spread your legs and let me eat you out, just relax the upper body so I can treat your fucking gash!"

Tori did as instructed – yelled, really, - her face now red both from Jade's crude words and anger at the said girl.

"_You _were the one who put it there," the brunette growled. "I wasn't even trying to do anything to you! Why the hell would you stab me like that?"

"You're a wolf," Jade said simply.

Just like that, the atmosphere grew heavy with somberness as the girls stared at each other, the difficulty of the situation hitting with full force now that they made it to a relatively safe location, adrenaline slowly leaving their blood.

"You were going to kill me," Tori whispered, the pain in her voice leaving Jade drained. "If you didn't think I was worth studying, you would've killed me in a heartbeat."

"…I didn't know it was you," the troubled Huntress whispered back, her hands stilling as she applied ointment to Tori's wound.

"Does it matter? You kill my kind. Even if most of us never touched a hair on a human's head," the werewolf said heatedly. "You just said it. It didn't matter to you that I was being friendly, that I was harmless. You stabbed me, just like that. Because of who I am. Because that's what you do."

Jade closed her eyes, crumbled at the girl's tone filled with sorrow.

"Tori…"

"How much?"

"What?"

"You know what," the werewolf said coldly. "How much do I have left?"

Jade wanted to lie so badly. She wanted to say that Tori was going to make it, that it was a mere sedative, that she was going to be okay soon. If not to calm Tori down, then to soothe herself.

But she couldn't, all because the damn venom had one very specific antidote.

"You have two days if we don't give you the cure," she confessed, finishing the treatment with a few touches and slumping tiredly on the ground next to the couch.

"And what's the cure?"

Jade buried her face in her hands, knowing fully well that in Tori's case, there wasn't one.

"The blood of your mate."

* * *

Tori nodded, a humorless smirk on her face. Of course. There was no easy way for her.

There was no way out of this, either.

"Great," she stated emptily. "It's settled, then. I'm dead."

"…I know," Jade replied hoarsely. "I know you don't have a mate yet."

"I'm not gonna have a mate _ever_," the girl snorted, sitting up, no longer caring about modesty as she propped her elbows on her bent knees. "That's some fucked up vicious cycle," she noted absent-mindedly.

"Maybe there's an alternative antidote."

"Is there?"

"…No."

The werewolf nodded again.

"So," she said with fake cheer. "What's your story? How did you become a Hunter?"

Jade looked at her like she grew a second head.

"Is that really what you wanna talk about? After learning that-"

"That I'm basically a walking corpse?" Tori chimed in. "That I'm going to die in forty eight hours with no way of preventing that from happening? That you- that you practically killed me already? Is that what I'm supposed to wanna talk about, huh?" Her voice went up as she almost shouted at the end, not caring about angry tears spilling down her cheeks. "Let's talk about, fine," she snapped. "Let's talk about how the girl I _love _drove a fucking knife in me!"

The Huntress stood up, dumbfounded.

"…the girl you what?"

"The girl I love," Tori repeated, much quieter this time, slumping against the back of the couch. "I… I think I'm in love with you. No, I _know_ I'm in love with you," she whispered, awed.

"Tori," her captor breathed desperately, staring at her. "Fuck!" she screamed out next, kicking a table with force, causing it to shatter on the floor. "Goddammit… It's not fair."

"Oh, trust me, I can see how it's not," Tori noted dryly. "I'm the one about to die, remember?"

"I'm sorry." Jade stared in the distance, her expression lost as she swallowed a lump in her throat. "I'm so sorry."

"Why? Because you found out it's me?" Tori fired. "You wouldn't be sorry if it was anyone else, would you?"

"What do you want from me?" The Huntress exploded, responding to Tori's anger instantly. "Yes. Yes, I wouldn't be sorry. I was doing it since I was a fucking kid, Vega. It's all I _know,_" she said, agitated. "I'm a West, for fuck's sakes, it's-"

"…What?" Tori paled even more as Jade let out one of her heavily guarded secrets. "You're… You're not just any Hunter. Your bloodline started all this. Oh my God," the werewolf shook her head, horrified. She snapped her attention to the Huntress. "Why the hell did you tell me your name was Jade Michelson?"

"Because of your reaction just now," Jade replied tensely. "Wests are too well-known in certain circles. I can't have my catches knowing who I am before I want them to, now can I?"

"I'm in love with a West," Tori mumbled to herself in disbelief. "Oh God. This isn't happening."

"Gee, turn the enthusiasm down a notch," the raven-haired girl sarcastically remarked, trying to conceal the hurt she felt at Tori's disgust.

"You're a West!" The werewolf exclaimed, sounding like a broken record to Jade's ears. "I was raised to hate you. Your family wiped out _villages_! You… you even killed pups. They were innocent, and you slaughtered them."

Jade felt her blood boil at the unfair accusations.

"That was _centuries_ ago," she hissed. "I wasn't even born when it happened, and frankly, even if I was there, I know I wouldn't do anything like that. You think any of this is easy for me, Tori? I also was raised to hate _you._ I was taught to kill, to hunt, to _protect_ human race from _your_ kind – from beasts that maimed and killed people! And how do you think I feel right now, knowing that I'm _in love_ with one of them?!"

Tori gaped at her, her hand covering her mouth as her mind raced from Jade's words.

"You love me," it meant to sound as a question, but instead came out a hollow, disbelieving statement.

"I do," Jade heaved a sigh, running her hand through her hair with frustration. "And that's why it's so unfair," she whispered, pained.

_She loves me. She loves me shelovesme she _loves_ me._

Tori pressed a hand to her mouth, tears falling down from her eyes as she exhaled a broken sob.

"We'll think of something," Jade croaked out.

"And then what?" The werewolf asked, her voice full of emotion. "You'll never be able to be with me. Even if we somehow find me a mate – I'll lose you forever. I'm a wolf, remember? We're tied with our mates for eternity. That's how it works. I can't - "

"You'll be alive," Jade interrupted her, empty words cutting through Tori's chest. "You'll be alive, and you'll run away to live your life with your mate. I promise I'll protect you."

"Which means I'll never see you again," the alpha said emotionlessly.

The girls sat in silence.

"It's almost impossible for me to find a mate, you know," Tori spoke up after a moment. "I don't know if you know, but I'm a female alpha. Beta males usually mate with beta females. And there's no such thing as a male omega."

"What about a female omega?" Jade uttered, ignoring the pang of pain in her heart as she imagined Tori with someone else. "There's gotta be other gay werewolves. Maybe you even have a gay wolf bar somewhere."

Tori laughed through tears that began gathering in her eyes again.

"Jade, mating takes time. It's not like I'll look her in the eyes and suddenly realize she's the one. We _choose_ to commit ourselves to one another, and besides, mating won't work if we're not in love. And no one falls truly in love in the span of two days."

The werewolf sighed and tried to stand up, only to stumble and almost fall to the ground before Jade barely managed to catch her.

"I'm dizzy," Tori muttered.

"I know," Jade replied helplessly, feeling a strong urge to break down and cry at the weakening look on the alpha's face. "Let's get you to bed."

"Jade, I'm… I'm sorry for what I said earlier," the girl rushed out. "It wasn't really fair of me."

"Well, I poisoned you, so I'd say we're even," the Huntress picked the weak wolf up, carrying her upstairs gently. "Come on. You need your beauty sleep for tomorrow when we'll be picking up your future spouse." The wounded girl was carefully placed on the bed after Jade helped her in a nightgown.

"I don't want anyone else," Tori felt her throat close up as she began crying silently again. "I don't need anyone else."

"You do if you want to live."

"I don't want to live without you… But I also don't want to die, not yet," the wolf sobbed openly now, and there was nothing Jade could do except gather her in her arms as the girl broke down. "I'm not ready to go, Jade," she managed through tears.

"I'm not ready to let you go," the Huntress replied, on the verge of crying herself as several droplets tumbled down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Tori. I'm so- I love you," she stammered, holding the wolf as she clung to her desperately.

"I love you, too," Tori cried. "I don't blame you. Not really. I get it. Even if I'm not happy about it, I get it."

"I do," the Huntress buried her face in Tori's hair, noticing how similar it felt to her previous fur. "I wish it never happened. I wish you never met me. You would've been-"

"I don't regret anything for a second," the wolf said, surprisingly strong. "I'm not sorry that I met you."

"You should be."

"I can't." Tori smiled weakly, her tear stricken face tugging at Jade's heart. "I love you."

"You did seem fond of me when your tail was swinging all over the place," the Huntress remarked, desperately wanting to lighten the atmosphere.

"Yeah, I uh, I don't really control her. The wolf, I mean. She liked you all by herself, or, well, I guess she likes you because I like you – it's really complicated," Tori babbled, slightly embarrassed as she recalled how excited the wolf got. She was like a clingy puppy. Not the werewolf's proudest moment.

Silence fell over the pair once again as they lay, with Tori's back against Jade's front as the latter held her gently, her arms entwined around her midsection.

_The wolf really did like me,_ Jade thought. _It was about ready to hump my leg, I swear-_ _oh shit_.

Why didn't she think of that earlier?

"It's a full moon," she spoke up out of blue. Tori hummed in agreement. "It's gonna be a full moon for next two nights."

"Yeah. Don't worry, you don't need to chain me up, I can control my transformation. I am an alpha, after all."

It made everything even easier.

"So theoretically, you can turn right now if you want to?"

"I'm not really sure, I have this poison in my system. But probably I can, yeah. It'd take a bit longer though," the wolf replied, unconsciously nuzzling Jade's arm. "Why?"

Jade cleared her throat. Now was the hardest part. Convincing Tori.

"The Bite is accepted the quickest on a full moon," she quietly stated, and immediately, Tori tensed in her arms.

"No no no, Jade," the wolf started. "I'm not doing this."

"Yes, you are," The Huntress found herself saying determinedly. She already made up her mind. There was no going back from it. "You're going to give me the Bite. I'll turn in a day, and we'll mate. We're already in love, it won't be a problem-"

"Jade, I'm _not _turning you!" Tori snapped, sitting up and ignoring the shooting pain. "The Bite is a curse," she continued. "Being born a werewolf and being turned into one are two completely different things, and trust me when I say this, being born one is not a picnic – now imagine what it's like to be turned."

"Wait – being _born_ one? Don't recall that from Wolf Studies," Jade muttered.

"Wolf Studies – I'm not getting into that one," Tori shook her head. "Jade, you won't be able to _ever_ control the transformation. You also will never remember anything that happens to you when you're in a wolf form. Which means you'll be completely controlled by your bloodlust," the brunette kept silent, letting her words sink in. "You'll become the thing you were taught to kill," she whispered. "The very monster you were raised to protect everyone from."

Jade blinked. Actually, she didn't know about _those_ implications. She was told that all wolves couldn't control the bloodlust.

And come to think about it, she also didn't know you could be _born_ a werewolf. Tori's words escaped her notice earlier when she was confused and scared for the girl she loved, but now… The new information made her head spin.

"You didn't know, did you," Tori stated confidently. "They didn't teach you this in Werewolf 101?"

The Huntress didn't answer. Everything the wolf said was true – of course Tori was right. She would become something she hated. It went against everything she believed in, and it would no doubt cost her the place in the Council.

"So no, Jade. I'm not turning you," Tori quietly spoke up.

The raven-haired girl looked up, catching the wolf's warm eyes with her own. Tori was biting her lower lip nervously, the nightgown reaching her mid-thigh as she tugged on it slightly, curling up against the headrest.

_She looks so tiny,_ Jade thought. _Somehow, she's so small._

The decision was made before she even spoke her next words.

"You're giving me the Bite."


	4. Chapter 4

_If you need a face for Fiona Goode - new OC - google her, and she'll come up. I'm borrowing the character from AHS Coven, and she is portrayed by magnificent Jessica Lange. _

_Please review!_

* * *

She knew she was born for greater things in life. While envious onlookers whispered about her unquenchable thirst for reign, she knew better. She _was_ it; the very epitome of power. Fiona Goode was an inexplicable woman, and it could be taken as many ways as possible. She took pride in knowing that most of the time, it wasn't a compliment.

More often than not, true power came from knowledge and control, and a king depending purely on himself was a soon-to-be-fallen fool. Fiona recognized that all too clearly. While she wasn't reigning _yet,_ she would be very soon with the help of measures she took beforehand. Those included manipulating Council tech support to mount monitoring wires on all Hunters' communicators, to name a few. Being kicked out of the Council – she preferred the term "indefinite leave of absence" – didn't really stop her; but it did fuel her. Admittedly, she spent more than two thirds of her time listening to juvenile conversations between young Hunters and their operators, and she fought an urge to snap several necks more times than she cared to remember.

But right now, as ashes from her long-forgotten cigarette were falling down all over her front seat, she allowed herself to be smug about her undoubtedly smart decision.

And as young Jadelyn West frantically explained a mess she'd made to her near-hysterical research partner Robbie Shapiro, Fiona Goode let her usual cunning smirk form on her attractive, albeit inevitably aging face.

The youngest West was her ticket to the throne.

It was time she came out of her forced retirement, anyway.

Thank God that, unbeknownst to the young Huntress, the West mansion was minutes away from her house.

* * *

"_What?!_"

Usually, Jade would roll her eyes at Robbie's cliché shrieks, but right now, her partner's anxiety passed to her, as well.

"I know, it's fucked up," she admitted. "But there's nothing I can do."

"There's something you _can_ do – not turn into a goddamn wolf!"

Jade cringed, not doubting that Tori heard everything even if she wasn't actively listening in.

The Huntress knew her partner was right. Of course she knew about the implications her decision would bring; she was completely aware just what exactly she was about to do, more than ever now that Tori told her everything that wasn't taught to her.

_Or was held back from me,_ she thought darkly.

So, Jade knew why her idea sucked. She was fairly certain that she could come up with a long list of reasons, if need be, and Robbie would be more than willing to help. She acknowledged all the bad things that would come with being turned.

The thing was, she didn't give a flying fuck about any of them.

"She's dying." That was all she could croak out through the giant lump in her throat. And Robbie understood.

_The only thing in the whole fucking world that matters to me right now is her._

"Jade, it's… God," he breathed, distressed. "There's gotta be another way. You can't… you can't _become_ that… that-"

"I get it. I don't care." Robbie muttered profanity under his breath at her curt tone. "There's no other way, and you know it."

"I wish I didn't."

_Yeah, well, we all have a wish,_ Jade said to herself. _I wish she'd never met me._

"So that's it?" The man uttered with difficulty. "You're doing it. You're leaving us. Me."

"Don't you fucking guilt-trip me, Shapiro," she growled at him. "It won't work anyway. Yes, I'm choosing her over you, is that what you wanna hear? I'm choosing her. I will _always_ choose her."

Jade wondered if Tori had that shy smile on her face right now as she heard the Huntress.

She fell in love with that smile a long time ago. Right after she, however cheesy that sounded, drowned in the doe eyes that pulled her in the instant she laid her own icy blues on them.

She wondered when Tori knew she was in love with her. What made her feel that way. What did she notice about her first.

Jade angrily told her brain to shut up when it helpfully informed her that she may never get the chance to find out.

_The Bite will work in time. We'll make it._

"I'm not," Robbie replied, and the Huntress bit down on her lip, hard, tasting metal. He sounded broken, completely shattered for the first time since she'd known him. She never hated herself more. Guilt was a powerful weapon, indeed. "Did she… Are you already…"

"No. That's why I'm calling, actually." Jade drew a long breath, gathering her courage. Telling him was one thing. Doing what she was about to do was entirely another. "I need a favor."

"You mean you need a cover up." He always got her. He never doubted her. It was amazing how far they'd come since they met. After he got assigned to her all those years ago, back in their training days, she was absolutely bewildered as she arched a disdained eyebrow at the curly-haired timid nerd. He was so nervous around her all the time, if she didn't know he was gay, she'd think he was crushing on her.

Now that she thought about it, she actually was the first person he'd come out to. Not that he needed to, she knew long before that.

He was the first person to see her cry, and he knew just the right things to say and do. He was about to be the last human to talk to a human her.

They were about to lose each other, and they knew it.

In the end, it did come down to a choice, and no matter how much she told herself that was the only way, she couldn't help but taste the betrayal, her betrayal, as it made her physically sick.

"I do." Jade cleared her throat. Unwanted flood of memories closed her throat up, and she stubbornly swiped at her eyes, silently ordering herself to get it together. "I already have a story, I just need you to fake a couple of forensic science reports, throw some evidence under their noses."

She was met with heavy silence as Robbie was no doubt trying to gather himself as well.

"Let's hear it then," he replied, fake enthusiasm just a touch too gleeful to be real. "You did have a knack for writing back in the day, I'm curious to see what you came up with."

"I was bitten, killed the alpha, and shot myself." Jade wasn't surprised at her medical controlled tone. Neither was Robbie.

"Got it. So we need a complete crime scene, two bodies, one human, one werewolf." Robbie was already mulling it over as he thought out loud, obviously trying to distract himself by concentrating on the job. The Huntress was doing the same. "I can't pull it off alone, you know that," he pointed out, his tone all business now. "We need some back-up here."

"And I know you know just the person for the job."

"Oh man," Robbie laughed after a second of thinking. "Valentine. She'll be perfect."

"We're lucky Council didn't fire her after the whole 'werewolf boyfriend' incident."

"We're lucky she's a hopeless romantic as well. She's gonna be all over your tragic love story, we can trust her."

"Too bad you can't trust your research partner, kiddo." A new voice floated through the air, startling Jade as she whipped around, her yes narrowing as she took the intruder in.

"Your house lacks style," a woman remarked off-handedly, entering the living room. The first thing Jade noticed was the air vibrant with power, coiled around the blonde woman as she swaggered around her house like she owned the place. Years might have been kind on her, but they showed nonetheless; Jade deducted she was in her late fifties, although her glamorous all-black Channel outfit complete with classy heels suggested otherwise. The woman smirked at her as she took a drag from her cigarette, holding up a phone in her other hand.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jade demanded, scowling as she shushed a worried Robbie.

"You have your uncle's manners." The woman's wry grin grew wider.

"I also have his temper."

"No wonder he's dead, and you're about to join him."

Jade tensed.

"Is that a threat?"

"Darling, that's a warning, and I'm an ally here. Your partner, on the other hand, has pressed 'send' about two minutes ago." The phone was held up higher as the strange woman studied Jade with obvious amusement. "You'll have troops coming in here in no time, and I can assure you they're not gonna be asking who's who – that's a 'fire at will' type of situation. You violated the Code. And there's hell to be paid."

Jade stared at her disbelievingly, her mind busy sorting everything out. Robbie sold her out?

"C'mon, don't be shy," the woman nodded at the phone on her hand.

"Jade, what's going on there?" Robbie piped up again, the worry in his tone making Jade uneasy now that the blonde woman dropped the seeds of doubt.

The young Huntress approached the woman carefully, taking the phone. There, on the screen, a clear message could be read, along with the time it was sent, the recipients and the sender's names present as well.

Jade saw red.

"Jade? What-"

"_Code 012,_" Jade read the message out loud to Robbie, the anger in her voice ringing in her ears. "_West residence. Possible 024 as well._"

Beck's name was the first on the list. At least something stayed the same.

"Jade, I can explain-"

"You sold me out!" she screamed. The woman chuckled at that, walking past her and helping herself to Jade's finest scotch as she watched it unravel. "I_ trusted_ you, and you fucking set me up!"

Code 012. A Hunter being held hostage. And the nerve of him, _possible 024…_ He threw in Stockholm Syndrome as well, so the rescue group would act accordingly. Accordingly meant blowing Tori's brains out and sedating Jade to be exiled to an asylum for half a year.

_He was supposed to be on my side._

"I wasn't about to let you do this!" Robbie screamed back, losing the pretense. "You're my best friend. You're practically my sister. I wasn't gonna stand by while you ruined your whole life for that monster."

_He was supposed to trust me._

"Not anymore," she found herself saying. Words came out hollow, tired. "I'm not those things anymore."

"Jade, listen to me," her partner – ex-partner, she thought – said hurriedly. "You're not thinking clearly. Your judgment is clouded, you're not yourself. Just trust me, and I'll get you out of this mess. You can hate me all you want, but at least you'll be _human_. And I'll be with you every step. _Forever and always_, you remember?" The pact they made after her near-death experience three years ago. She remembered.

It seemed fitting.

"Funny you should say that," she whispered. "Because that's how long you won't see me."

"Jade, don't do this, please-"

"You just lost me. Forever and always." She briefly contemplated saying goodbye. But only briefly.

The phone hit the wall, cracking.

"I appreciate the drama, but we don't have much time to do the whole three acts," the elder blonde noted calmly, squinting at the distressed Huntress as she sat cross-legged on the same couch Jade tended to Tori's wounds on. "Get your pet and go." She rolled her eyes at Jade's sharp look. "Fine, get _the love of your life_ and let's go. And hurry, for Christ's sakes, because she's got two days to live as it is," the woman gestured behind Jade's shoulder with her cigarette, and the Huntress turned her head to be met with Tori's wide-eyed gaze as the brunette stood at the end of a staircase, scared. "And this place is about to become very crowded real soon."

"Why should I trust you?"

The woman cocked her head to the right.

"Does it look like you have a choice?" She cooed mockingly.

"Yup, snap your ancient neck and get out of here."

Jade didn't miss a fleeting rage passing the woman's features at the word 'ancient'.

"And then do what? She gives you the Bite, and you live happily ever after, munching on villagers and mating in the woods on a full moon?" The woman scoffed. "Christ, the Council really did a number on ya, didn't they, those bastards."

"What's Council has to do with any of this?" Jade fired, quickly losing patience. The woman was unnerving her, and judging by the way Tori watched the blonde, she was unsettling for the wolf, as well. And if there was anything she could trust, it was wolf instincts.

"We're out of time," the woman tossed at her lazily instead, gracefully picking herself up from the couch and stubbing the cigarette out. "This continues in the car."

"You didn't give us a single reason to follow you," Tori spoke up for the first time quietly, exchanging wary glances with the Huntress. The blonde smiled, amused, as she came closer to the pair.

"Aw, the puppy talks," she smirked. "Your body won't accept the Bite," just as quickly, the woman lost all playfulness as she stared Jade dead in the eye next. "You're a West – a real West, carrying the direct bloodline, not like that pathetic uncle of yours. She bites you, you stay human, she dies. Easy enough for you to comprehend, child?"

"You're lying," was all Jade could manage as she stared back at the blonde, distrustful.

The woman shrugged.

"By all means, go ahead and see for yourself. I don't give a single fuck if wolfie doesn't make it. And she won't." With that, she turned and began her way out. Jade cursed under her breath before scooping Tori up and chasing after the woman, her mind reeling from everything that happened in less than half an hour.

"I see you made a wise fucking decision," the woman chuckled.

"Can we at least get a name?" Tori weakly called out, tightly grasping Jade's shirt in her fist.

The blonde shrugged, not looking at them.

"Fiona Goode." She smirked as she got in the car, murmuring to herself. "The baddest bitch in town."


	5. Chapter 5

_Please review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Fiona Goode.

Jade heard that name before.

* * *

_"Is it bad that I don't miss them?"_

_A question spoken so softly, Alaric barely heard it through the sound of meat sizzling on the stove. He cursed at droplets of hot oil sprinkling his arm while he didn't pay attention._

_"Sorry," the cause of his distraction muttered, fully entering the kitchen. Her eyes, so much like her mother's, two icy blues, studied his hand. "Is it bad?"_

_Alaric wasn't sure what his niece was referring to – her previous question or his current condition. So he went with the less sever one._

_"No, I'm fine. Just a tiny oil splash," he replied, walking away from the preparing meal and sitting down next to the troubled teenager. She appeared deep in thoughts, chewing on her lower lip as she furrowed her brows, already arched in a natural scowl. _

_"Jade," he softly called out when it became clear the girl wasn't going to say anything. "Are you okay?"_

_"I don't miss them," he could see a split in her lip as she spoke up. He couldn't say for certain whether it was there because of the last night's fight with a werewolf, or because of the inner battle she was having for God knows how long. He knew his niece – the girl was a master at harboring emotions, hiding them deep inside where no one could see them._

_'It's like Alexander, but twice the walls, estrogens and teenage hormones,' Alaric thought helplessly to himself. He loved his passed brother-in-law, he really did; Alexander West's family meant to him more than his own broken one, since Alexander's sister, Alaric's then-wife, left everything behind and ran away from responsibilities that came with being a West. And he stuck around. He couldn't leave his Hunters, he couldn't leave Alex, and later, when Jade was born, he realized her couldn't leave now even if he wanted to._

_Especially after Alex and Nadia… It hurt even to think about it. So he didn't. But it was hard not to remember his best friends when he had a living reminder under his care and protection, greeting him with Nadia's eyes and Alex's smile._

_And as her habits and behavior shaped, he was reminded of late Wests more and more as days passed. Especially about Alex._

_"It's fucked up," his niece continued. Alaric absentmindedly thought that such language wasn't suited for a fifteen-year-old. But he let it slide this time. "I mean… they are my parents. But I don't really know them. I look at those portraits, which are totally creepy, by the way, and I see _strangers._ And I'm so ashamed and angry at myself all the time, because they are my _parents,_ and I'm supposed to miss them and love them, and… And just feel at least _something_ when I think about them. But I don't," she turned her head to look at him, her stormy blue eyes betraying someone far older than she appeared to be. "Is there something wrong with me, Uncle Ric? Because I tried to look some stuff up, and there was a lot about sociopaths, and various mental disorders…"_

_"Hey, hey," he interrupted her immediately. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Jade. Don't you ever think that way, young lady," he jokingly chided her to let her know he wasn't mad. "You're a brilliant girl, both intellectually and emotionally. So never say there's something wrong with you, okay?"_

_She nodded slightly, a hint of smile easing Alaric's worry._

_"It's perfectly normal for you to feel that way," he continued. "You just said it. You didn't know them at all. Don't beat yourself up over it. Besides, it might be a natural defense mechanism. People deal with grief differently, and grieving and missing someone is a very stressful thing. Maybe, your mind doesn't want you to go through it. And even if what I just said is a load of bullshit," he mentally high-fived himself when she laughed lightly at his curse, "you don't have to feel obligated to mourn them. You can't force something you don't feel, and in your case, it's okay not to feel connected to them. You were barely two years old when it happened."_

_Jade nodded, again, and again Alaric was painfully reminded of how much she looked like _them_. If he could die instead of Alex and Nadia, he gladly would, in a heartbeat, just to give Jade a chance to know her parents. She would've loved them. She would've made them proud. Alaric certainly was._

_"Thanks, Uncle Ric."_

_"It's Ric," he said suddenly. "Call me Ric."_

_"Okay. Ric." Jade smiled at him, and for the first time in years, it wasn't usual smirk of her father. Nadia was smiling at him, kind, shy, and so, _so beautiful_, just as he remembered._

_The man smiled back, fighting the tears gathering in his eyes. Jade couldn't see him cry. He was there for her. Not the other way around._

_"There's a way," he found himself saying. "For you to at least somehow connect to them. I could tell anything you want to know." He didn't know why he never did before. Maybe because he, along with the remaining Council, was too busy feeding her crap about her destiny and legacy. Maybe it was because she never actually asked before, carefully sidestepping the topic, seemingly content with just knowing they died. And what a death that was. Not on the field, not defending each other, not fighting any illness. One day, Fate was feeling particularly cruel. And their car crushed._

_Deep down, however, Alaric knew why he never brought them up, either. It hurt too much. It hurt to talk about them being full of life, laughing, dancing, teasing each other, only to remember that at that exact moment they were rotting six feet under. Dead._

_"That would be awesome, Ric," Jade said quietly, and worry in her voice told him he'd failed. He cracked, tears slowly rolling down his face, making it into the stew he was preparing for dinner. "I'd like that."_

_He never forgave God for taking them away so early, but most of all, he was angry they didn't get to know Jade._

_Because she was the best daughter they never had, and she was the daughter he always wished for._

_"Then it's settled," he smirked, quickly wiping his eyes. "You'll be listening to this old man bragging about old times. Excited?"_

_"Oh, very," she rolled her eyes, a small chuckle escaping her, and in that moment, Ric realized a very important thing. She had Nadia's features and Alex's smile, and she had something that made her so uniquely _Jade_._

_Somehow, it got a little easier to breathe._

_"Well then, kiddo, I'm gonna order pizza since I forgot I sucked at cooking, and then-"a loud ringing interrupted him, coming from his pocket. He took the cell out. Jeffrey._

_Whatever it was, it wasn't gonna be good._

_"Alaric," he curtly answered the phone. Jade tensed up next to him, her body automatically going on defense as she picked on his mood. He felt a fleeting pride pass through him. She was trained well._

_"We found out whose money covered the experiments," Jeffrey Fell stated shortly. "Your guess was right."_

_Alaric gritted his teeth. That woman._

_"Fiona Goode," he spat. "She was the one sponsoring the experiments. I knew it."_

_"Save the 'I told you so' for the hearing," the Head of the Council threw at him lazily. "It's tomorrow. Be ready."_

_"Hearing?"_

_"She'll stand before the Council," Jeffrey impatiently replied. Alaric struggled not to roll his eyes. The whole Council irked him, but there was nothing he could do except warn Jade. She hasn't met the Council up close and personal yet – her Hunter trial was in two years. He had to make sure Jade knew not to trust the bastards. "We'll have her removed," the man on the other line continued._

_"A high price to pay for vanity," Alaric noted absentmindedly._

_"Not our problem. Tomorrow I expect you to be there."_

_"What about Jade? She's-"_

_"A minor doesn't have a legal standing. You're her voice." Jeffrey cut him off. "Make sure she speaks up."_

_The call got disconnected. What a fucking prick._

_"Ric?" He whipped around, having completely forgotten his niece was standing right there. "Who's Fiona Goode?"_

* * *

"You're Fiona Goode."

The blonde woman gave her a wry smirk as she glanced at the rearview mirror.

"The one and only, baby girl."

"I know you," Jade stated. "I know about you. You were conducting experiments on werewolves to get the regenerating gene. You wanted the eternal youth." The Huntress smirked. "Didn't really work out from what I can see."

Fiona's eyes flashed dangerously, and Jade had her hunch confirmed. Old age was a sore spot.

"Um, not that I want to interfere with your happily ever after, but you kinda had the wrong kind," Tori spoke up, addressing the driving woman. "What you need is vampires. Not wolves. And since vamps don't exist, you're shit outta luck."

"Keep your yappy little bitch in check, girl," Fiona snapped from the driver seat. "And you, pup – you're dumber than I thought. Your owner just mentioned what I was after. Wolf's regeneration abilities have an enormous potential. If I got the injection right, I could've lived for as long as I wanted to. Or at least I would've made an incredibly attractive and youthful corpse," the blonde shrugged, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Stop referring to her as a dog," Jade fired. "Why are you helping us? Is it revenge against the Council because they kicked you out?"

"I prefer the term 'indefinite leave of absence'," their questionable ally gritted through her teeth.

"It's been eight years."

Fiona really didn't need a reminder.

"What have you been doing all these years?"

"Is that really what you wanna know?" The blonde stole another glance in the mirror at the curled up pair. "Looking a tad grey there, wolfie. Everything alright?"

Tori glared at the woman, soothingly whispering to Jade that she was alright. However, Fiona got what she wanted. The young Huntress' attention was diverted for the time being.

"What you said in the house," Jade spoke up. "About Wests not being able to be turned. Is that true? And how do you know?"

"So many questions. Are you sure you're ready for answers?"

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes if we save her." The words rang determination, and Tori gently squeezed Jade's hand, snuggling into her side.

"How romantic." Fiona chuckled. "It honestly baffles me, Jadelyn. Shaking it up with a wolf? What would Daddy and Mommy say? Oh, right, you wouldn't really care, they're just a pair of people you've never met. But what about Ric?" She chuckled again at Jade's dark scowl. "Wasn't he bitten by one of those things?..."

"Am I responsible for every human killing and cheating another human?" The Huntress asked instead. "Tori's not responsible for her kind, either. It wasn't her," she looked at the wolf in her hold. "That's all that matters."

"I'd applaud you if I wasn't driving," the blonde remarked. "Young love. So beautiful. So tragic."

"Tell me why I can't be turned," Jade demanded.

Fiona shook her head, looking amused as hell.

"Sweetheart," she began, catching Jade's eyes through a mirror and not leaving her gaze. "Why would you even want to, when we can simply cure her?"

A tense silence filled the car as Fiona smugly stared at the pair, somehow managing to perfectly drive through the empty road.

"This…" Tori coughed. "…She can't be saying what I think she's saying."

The blonde woman laughed.

"Oh, you mean how I implied you can become a human? Honey, I was _dead_ serious. The venom is fatal to werewolves," she shrugged. "Then stop being a werewolf, I say. And I have just the thing you need. Those experiments were good for something, at least."

The girls gaped at her as she sped up the car, giving them one last hard look before turning her attention to the road.

Jade took a sharp breath, her and Tori exchanging disbelieving glances.

"There is a cure."


	6. Chapter 6

_And I'm back from the dead. In the words of one Madison Montgomery, 'surprise bitch, I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.' Nah I'm joking._

_I really am sorry for this delay. Due to me graduating university in less than a month, things have been hectic. However, I'm determine to finish all my fics. I just need to get back in the mood, and I slowly am._

_Please review!_

* * *

"Do you trust her?"

Jade glanced over her shoulder at the wolf, curled up on the couch. She mulled over the question. Did she? Absolutely not. Did she have to? The answer, unfortunately, was a positive one.

The young Huntress took a deep breath, strolling over to the couch with two glasses of scotch. Fiona had an impressive collection of alcohol; Jade allowed herself to be envious and appreciative for a moment as she studied the bottles on the table that stood like an army, soldiers of different barrels and ages ready to take over minds.

They arrived at Fiona's house half an hour ago, with the woman claiming the cure was in her scientists' hands and was to arrive shortly. All they could do now was wait.

"I don't," she replied Tori's question, offering the glass to the girl and taking a sip from her own. "We don't have much of a choice, do we?"

Tori nodded, chewing on her bottom lip as she stared at the floor. The Huntress observed the girl carefully, hiding behind her tumbler glass as she did so. Wrinkles on the wolf's forehead, while cute, worried her immensely. She could only imagine what the wolf was going through at the moment. The decision to take the cure, aside from it being offered by a very questionably ally, would turn her life upside down. Tori was born a wolf. She had no idea how deal with human experiences; she didn't know what to do if she fell sick, she wasn't used to a cut not healing instantly, she didn't know what being _cold_ felt like, for God's sake. And now, she had no choice but to give up her nature if she wanted to live.

"I'm scared," the brunette spoke up, confirming Jade's musings. "What… what if the cure doesn't work?"

"Plan B. We get you a mate," the Huntress shrugged.

"I can't be with anyone else but you."

"Yes, you can, and that's final," Jade snapped, regretting it immediately as the wolf frowned, hurt. "I'm sorry – it's been a long day," she offered gently, rubbing her face.

"I get it," Tori nodded, cautiously placing her hand on Jade's shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. About… about Robbie."

"I'm not ready to talk about it," the Huntress whispered hollowly. "Can we- can we just…"

The wolf leaned into her instead of answering, understanding Jade's inner turmoil. The raven-haired girl hugged her, tightly holding her form close. She realized just how strongly she hoped for the cure to work. How badly she wished for Fiona to be truthful.

"I love you," the girl in her arms spoke up softly, her hold on Jade's waist tightening. "If… I mean-"

"_Don't._ Don't start with the whole 'last words' crap. You'll have plenty of time to say that later when it's all over and done with." Jade twisted slightly to look at Tori's face, brushing a lock of brunette hair away from her forehead before adding, gentler: "And I love you too."

"Well isn't that just sickening to watch," a now familiar sardonic voice called out as Fiona entered, smirking.

The Huntress rolled her eyes at that, tenderly untangling Tori from her as she stood up. She studied the older woman through narrowed eyes as she strolled into the room, placing herself in a chair across from the girls, a smug smirk never leaving her lips. There was something about Fiona that rubbed Jade the wrong way ever since she first laid eyes on the blonde. From her arrogance to her too-expensive black outfit show-off, everything irked the Huntress. But most of all, the girl realized, most of all she disliked the way Fiona made her feel.

Like she was a pawn in someone's game. In Fiona's game.

She had absolutely no idea what the woman's intentions were, and she highly doubted that Fiona decided to help them out from the goodness of her heart.

"Sit, Jadelyn," the blonde stated silkily, cocking her head to the right. "Your pup's getting restless."

Jade snarled as her patience finally ran out, ready to tear the woman a new one when she felt a calming head on her shoulder.

"The _pup_ is also not above ripping your throat out," Tori shrugged indifferently, standing next to Jade. "Plus, I'm getting kinda hungry, and while I prefer my meals tender and fresh, I'm suddenly craving _ancient_ meat... Must be the venom speaking, but hey, who am I to complain." The predatory grin she sent to the woman was unsettling. Jade didn't even try to hide her smirk as she caught Fiona discreetly gulping at Tori's changed demeanor.

"Oh, _please._ You can barely stand, wolf; let alone transform."

"Who said I needed to transform to tear you apart?" The brunette spoke quiet, amused, as her irises grew golden.

"Do that and you lose the cure," Fiona warned.

"Call me a pup again and you lose several vital organs," Tori sneered right back, losing all playfulness as she stared her down, lips curled in anger, revealing wolf fangs. Jade shivered involuntary, a storm of emotions passing through her at the brunette's power display.

Seeing Tori, her bubbly, happy, friendly Tori being so… feral was certainly confusing. And, as much as Jade hated to admit it, not in a good sense, either.

The Huntress shook her head slightly, pushing her conflicted emotions down as she hurried to break the impending fight up.

"Look," she addressed Fiona, taking Tori hand in hers to calm the wolf down. "I think you agree that this whole situation is fucked up. I'm not even gonna try and deny that I'm freaked out as hell. We just need to know if we can trust you, at least enough to try and cooperate, and your mocking doesn't help."

"Well then you're even more fucked, honey buns, because I can't give you any reasons to trust me," the blonde scoffed, standing up as well. "You just have to. Isn't that what trust is about? Taking everything in stride, no questions?"

"Trust is earned, Mrs. Goode," Tori stated.

"It's '_Miss_ Goode'."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tori's expression said she was anything but. "Usually women your age are grandmas by now."

"Tori," the young Huntress hissed warningly, squeezing the brunette's hand.

The cautious knock on the door interrupted any possible bloodshed, much to Jade's relief. She just hoped the dirty look Fiona threw Tori's way wasn't a promise of revenge, even though the hope was vain.

Fiona reentered the room together with a tall blonde girl approximately their age. The newcomer gave them a once-over, her cat-like blue eyes shining with interest as she studied the girls, her gaze lingering on Tori a second too long for Jade's liking.

"You were right," the girl remarked, her voice surprisingly tender and airy. Suddenly she reminded Jade of Cat Valentine, Council's best forensic sciense expert. Were all scientists in the supernatural field alike? "It is a fine specimen." Light blue eyes shifted to the Huntress. "Are you her lover?"

Jade almost choked on her own spit from the straightforwardness of the blonde scientist. The question certainly caught her off guard. And what was the answer to that? Technically, they haven't really-

"_Yes,_" A steely voice said on her left. "She is my lover, although I fail to see how that's any of your business."

"None, really," the blonde shrugged, her voice quiet with the same dreamy undertone. "I was just always curious how the mating goes. Do you shift during intercourse?"

This time, it was Tori's turn to be flustered.

"I… What? N-no, I mean-"

"That's enough, Heather," Fiona rolled her eyes, coming to sit on the chair again. "Just do your damn job, because while I have all the time in the world, the lovebirds don't."

The blonde – Heather– nodded, taking off her jacket and nearing the couch. She placed her suitcase on the coffee table, snapping it open and revealing a collection of needles and bottles. Jade reassuringly squeezed Tori's hand again as she felt the brunette tense up at the sight. She knew for a fact how much her girl hated doctors and injections.

"Please lay down, uh…" the scientist furrowed her brows as she looked up at the girls. "What's your name, again? I mean, I know you didn't give me one, so if you're gonna give me a cheeky response along these lines, you'll be wasting your time."

The girls blinked.

"I'm Tori. This is Jade."

"Your lover. Yup, I remember. Don't worry." Heather's lips curled slightly in an amused smile. "Lay down, Tori." She waited while the girl did as instructed before continuing. "First, I'm gonna see just how far the venom made it into your system. Don't worry, that's not gonna hurt. Then I'll inject you with the cure. That will." She cast a gauging glance at the laying brunette.

"How bad will it hurt?" Tori asked for a clarification.

"It really depends on your type of breed and on the venom effect. But…" the girl took out a syringe, inspecting it. "It will be pretty bad. Sorry."

"You don't sound very sorry," Jade fired accusatory.

"Well, I'm not really sorry. I was just being polite."

The huntress snorted at the light tone.

"Try to relax," Heather said to the nervous wolf soothingly, wiping a spot on her arm with alcohol. The syringe entered the brunette's skin next, making her wince, and Jade fought to stay put despite her instincts screaming at her to snap the scientist's neck.

_She's hurting her._

What happened next made it even harder for her not to kill Heather.

"Ah!" Tori cried out, her face twisted in pain as she trashed uncontrollably. "God- _Jade,_" she almost sobbed, reaching out to the huntress with a trembling hand.

Jade rushed to her side, knocking the blonde out of her way and gathering the wolf in her arms.

"What the fuck did you _do?!_" She snapped at Heather. "What's happening to her?!"

"Well, obviously you either didn't pay attention when I was talking, or you have severe hearing problems." The blonde stood up, dusting herself off. "I told you I was going to see how far venom made it in her system."

"By _torturing _her?" If it wasn't for Tori in her lap, Jade would've lunged at the scientist already.

"That was hardly torture. Christ, Jadelyn, relax already," previously silent Fiona spoke up, rolling her eyes. "Besides, she's alive, isn't she? Hey, sunshine! Stop being such a victim and get your shit together, because this is nothing compared to what's in store for you next."

"Can't wait," Tori dryly remarked as she slightly distanced herself from the Huntress. "I'm okay," she whispered to the raven-haired girl. "It was unexpected, that's all."

"I'm glad to announce that the venom's not in full control yet," the younger blonde spoke up. "If it were, you'd be either passed out or still convulsing in pain. You're fighting, and looks like you might be even winning. Not for long, though."

"I just want to get it over with," the brunette replied. "Just… inject me already."

"Is she always this impatient?" Heather asked, directing the question to Jade. "She doesn't look all that feisty, but she probably is, isn't she? At least in bed. Then again, you also look like quite a handful." Without giving a wide-eyed Huntress a chance to stutter anything, she reached into the suitcase again, taking out another syringe filled with a vibrant green liquid.

"You should let go of her hand," she warned Jade. "She might break it."

"I'm not letting go."

"You're not, but she will, after she crushed several bones," Heather shrugged, oblivious to a growing distress on Tori's face.

"It's really gonna hurt, isn't it," the brunette whispered, short of being terrified as she pleadingly stared in Jade's eyes. The Huntress only stared back, helpless.

"I'll be here," she let out. "Just remember that I'm here."

"You guys are so adorable," the scientist smiled, reaching for Tori's free hand. Jade wondered just what her connection to Fiona was. The blonde seemed completely harmless, if slightly quirky. What could have possibly tied her to the scheming bitch that was Fiona Goode?

_A scheming bitch who is currently saving Tori's life,_ she silently argued with herself.

_True. But what are her intentions in all of this?_

Too many questions and not nearly enough answers for one day.

She was torn out of her thoughts as searing pain shot through her hand where Tori squeezed her fingers, her whole body starting to shake immediately after the liquid made it into her blood.

"I told you," Heather had decency to look apologetic as she stood up, taking a step away from the couple on the couch.

The wolf howled.


End file.
